The invention relates to improvements in apparatus for manipulating short or long series of image-bearing exposed and developed photographic films, such as rows of coherent film frames or framed diapositives.
Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,719 to Nitsch et al. discloses a method of and an apparatus for reproducing the images of film frames. A person in charge introduces the leaders of successive sections of exposed and developed roll films into the inlet of the copying apparatus. The leader of a thus introduced roll film section is engaged by a drive and is transported through a scanning station toward and into a magazine. The apparatus processes the information which is detected and furnished by the scanning unit (such as the position(s) of that(those) film frame(s) which requires or require copying, and the exposure data) before the film is advanced from the magazine in the opposite direction so that successive frames of the advancing film move through a copying station in reverse order, i.e., in a sequence opposite to that of moving such film frames through the scanning station. When the copying operation is completed, the film section is moved out of the apparatus along the same path as during introduction into the apparatus and during transport toward the magazine by way of the scanning station.
Apparatus of the just outlined character are often utilized for the making of prints from customer films which are shipped or otherwise delivered to a photographic processing laboratory, either from dealers or directly from or by customers. For example, a customer may wish to obtain one or more prints of images of one or more frames on a single row of coherent exposed and developed film frames, or of one or more frames forming part of each of two, three or more discrete film sections. Each such section can consist of a certain number (e.g., four, six or eight) coherent film frames. The person in charge of introducing successive roll film sections into the apparatus can perform one or more additional operations, such as introducing into the apparatus information pertaining to the number of prints to be made, visually ascertained color correction values and/or others.
A drawback of the patented apparatus is that the person in charge cannot influence the frequency of introduction of successive roll film sections into the inlet for automatic transport toward and through the scanning station, into the magazine, from the magazine, through the copying station and back toward and outwardly through the inlet. Thus, the operator must await completion of the processing and ejection of a preceding roll film section before the apparatus is ready to accept the next section. This limits the output of such apparatus because the introduction and/or treatment of a next-following film section cannot coincide, even in part, with the treatment of the preceding film section or sections.
The situation is analogous in presently known apparatus for the making of reproductions of images of diapositives. The person in charge inserts a first diapositive which is thereupon advanced to the copying station and back to the inlet where it is to be removed by hand. This renders the inlet accessible for introduction of the next-following diapositive. Thus, the diapositives can be considered and are treated as single-frame sections of exposed and developed roll films. The output of existing apparatus could be increased without unduly burdening the person in charge, i.e., such person could examine and introduce a number of roll film sections or diapositives greatly exceeding the maximum possible output of existing copying machines for discrete frames (diapositives) or for rows of coherent frames of exposed and developed roll films.